IMF Country Team Engagement with Labor Unions on Inequality, Gender and Climate Pilots
In recent years, an increasing number of IMF country teams have conducted pilot studies on inequality, gender, and climate.
Over the past year, several of these teams have exchanged views with national labor unions, including the following:
- In Korea, the team discussed inequality with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), including recent inequality trends, the high incidence of low pay, job insecurity, and high youth unemployment due to duality.
- In the Czech Republic, they met with the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (CMKOS) to discuss gender issues such as the level of female employment, the gender wage gap, and the introduction of dedicated paternity leave.
- In Nicaragua, they discussed climate with representatives from most of the country’s labor unions—topics included the impact of climate change on health, and the need for technical assistance and transfer of climate-friendly technologies from the international community.
Several other IMF country teams conducting pilots studies have also exchanged views with national labor unions, or plan to do so in the coming months.
Annual Meetings 2017 Civil Society Townhall with IMF Managing Director Lagarde and World Bank President Jim Kim
Every year, at their Annual Meetings the Managing Director of the IMF and the President of the World Bank Group participate in a Townhall with civil society.
This year’s Townhall took place on Wednesday, October 11 and was moderated by Abdel-Rahman El Mahdi, founder and President of the Sudanese Development Initiative. Around 350 CSOs attended in person, with more viewing the event via livestream in English, Spanish, and French. Issues such as the role of civil society’s engagement with the IMF and the World Bank Group, gender and income inequality, corruption and how international financial institutions can help countries affected by natural disasters were discussed.
Workshop with Civil Society representatives from the South East Asian Region
On July 10-11, ahead of the IMF- Ministry of Finance of Indonesia conference on international taxation in Asia, the IMF organized a workshop with Civil Society representatives from Southeast Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia. Read more about this meeting
17 participants from Indonesia and representing regional CSO networks based in Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Singapore attended the two-day seminar. It was an opportunity for participants to get a better understanding of the role of the IMF, especially in the region, and to exchange views and thoughts with IMF staff on important issues in their countries such as fiscal policy, gender and income inequality, anti-corruption, jobs and employment. This workshop was also a way to listen to the views and concerns of CSOs and strengthen the relationship between the IMF and Civil Society from the region ahead of the IMF-World Bank- 2018 Annual Meetings that will take place in Bali, Indonesia.
Workshop with Civil Society representatives from the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) in Libreville, Gabon
On May 16-17, the IMF organized a workshop with Civil Society representatives from the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) in Libreville, Gabon.
Read more about this meeting
21 participants from Chad, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea attended the two-day seminar. It was an opportunity for participants to get better understanding of the role of the IMF, especially in the region and to exchange views and thoughts with IMF staff on important issues in their countries such as fiscal policy, debt, anti-corruption, use of natural resources, and jobs and employment. Civil Society participants published a statement at the end of the meeting.
Workshop with CSOs from the Middle East and North Africa
On February 15 -16, the IMF organized a workshop with representatives from Civil Society Organizations from the Middle East and North Africa. Read more about this meeting
17 participants came from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Tunisia, West Bank, and Yemen. It was an opportunity for participants and IMF staff to exchange views and thoughts on the IMF work and its role in the region as well as important issues in their countries such as fiscal policy, subsidy reforms, social protection, jobs and employment, and transparency.
High-Level Meetings of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), IMF and World Bank
The High-Level Meetings of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank took place at the IMF on February 7-9, 2017.
Read more about this meeting
Seventy labor union representatives from 30 countries met with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and staff to discuss key issues including: the global outlook, policy tools to support jobs and growth, labor market policies, income and gender inequality, and climate change/energy issues. These biennial High-Level Meetings are part of the IMF's regular interactions with labor unions at global, regional, and national levels. Listen to the podcast interview with Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.
Managing Director Christine Lagarde Meets With Ugandan Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
On January 26, 2017, Managing Director Christine Lagarde met with representatives of Ugandan Civil Society Organizations during her visit to the country to listen to their views and perspectives.
Read more about this meeting
They also discussed how the IMF could support them in areas where it operates (technical assistance, lending, policy advice and surveillance). The meeting was very productive. They exchanged views on wide ranging issues such as governance, fiscal policies and international taxation. The Managing Director also introduced the new IMF report
Seminar on Strengthening Fiscal Management and Financial Oversight - Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
On December 10, 2016, over 60 members of the Myanmar Parliament along with a number of Central Bank of Myanmar and Ministry of Planning and Finance officials attended a one day Seminar on Strengthening Fiscal Management and Financial Sector Oversight.
Read more about the seminar
IMF delivered a series of presentations covering the macroeconomic policy challenges, Fund capacity development activities, revenue administration and public financial management, financial sector oversight, and macroeconomic statistics and introduced the MPS to Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF. This seminar is an extension of the Fund‘s extensive technical assistance and training activities in Myanmar, ranging from central bank operations, bank regulation and supervision, revenue administration and policy, public financial management, macroeconomic statistics and analysis, and AML/CFT—making Myanmar one of the top recipients of IMF capacity development resources. The assistance is delivered through a mix of resident advisers, the Technical Assistance Office for Lao PDR and Myanmar, and Washington-based experts.
The Cost of Corruption: Youth Perspectives
During the Annual Meetings 2016, the IMF organized a Youth Dialogue “the Cost of Corruption: Youth Perspectives”. These Youth Dialogues provide a platform for young leaders to share their views on issues.
Read more about this Youth Dialogue
This year, the topic was on the cost of corruption and the role of youth in combating it. This town-hall style event moderated by Roberto Ferdman from Vice, featured a distinguished panel of young leaders from various global institutions working on addressing corruption (Cissy Kagaba, Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda; Sergejus Muravjovas, Transparency International Lithuania; Emilia Diaz Struck, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) as well as senior staff from the IMF (Sean Hagan, General Counsel IMF). They discussed the substantial direct and indirect costs of corruption, including low growth and greater income inequality. The conversation highlighted how corruption can have a significant impact on youth, as it can negatively affect their employment opportunities and hamper their access to basic services, including education. They also made the point that fighting corruption is not just about the rule of law and institutions, but about building values and changing societal norms. You can watch a video of the seminar The Cost of Corruption: Youth Perspectives.
In the lead up to the event, the IMF launched a social media campaign asking youth worldwide to recommend three ways to address corruption. Youth worldwide shared insightful ideas on how to combat corruption such as the need for more transparency and access to information, the idea that countries could leverage technology to streamline processes, the importance of education to empower citizens and raise awareness; and the need for the rule of law. Check out the hashtag #IMFYouth on Twitter to see more.
For videos on previous Youth Dialogues see Bridging the Unemployment Gap through Education and Inclusion and Inclusive Growth and Entrepreneurship through Education, Innovation and Passion.
